It is the illegal practice of cutting off the fin of a shark while it is still alive and then discarding the animal in the ocean.

The shark thrown back into the ocean meets certain death by asphyxiation (lack of oxygen) because these animals need continuous movement to force water into their gills and store oxygen.

Today about 20 shark species are threatened with extinction.

But not only is this a barbaric practice, if carried out it will endanger the water quality of our oceans.

If sharks were to disappear, there would be an increase in small fish on which sharks feed. These fish would eat the molluscs that are the " cleansers of the oceans" because they filter the water of impurities.

With the decrease in the presence of shellfish, inevitably the quality of our waters -already at risk- would deteriorate further, with serious consequences for the entire ecosystem.